EL SEGUNDO — With his left shoulder still not fully recovered from surgery in April, Lakers forward Lamar Odom said Monday that he would not rush his return, even if that meant sitting out training camp practices or exhibition games.

“I’m really close,” Odom said. “I want to get strong. I want to get back to 100 percent. It makes no sense for me to go out there in the preseason at 80 percent, 85 percent or even 90 percent. It’s a long season … hopefully towards the end of training camp, I’ll be ready to go on the basketball court.”

The Lakers open the exhibition season with back-to-back games, Oct. 11 and 12, against Golden State in Honolulu. Odom added that he hadn’t considered setting a goal of being back on the court by the time the Lakers return from training camp in Hawaii.

Odom missed the final 17 games of last season after tearing his labrum. He wanted to play all 82 games a year ago and acknowledged Monday that it will take a career season from him if the Lakers are to be successful.

“I think for us to have a great year, I’m going to have to have even a better year than I had in Miami,” said Odom, who averaged 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds during his lone season with the Heat.

Only a year after retiring as a player, Scottie Pippen will get his first taste of coaching over the next 10 days, asked by Phil Jackson to work with Odom in the triangle offense at training camp. Pippen’s official title is consultant.

“I want him to feel very good about himself, very comfortable as far as what we’re trying to do,” Pippen said of Odom. “From a coaching standpoint, I want him to understand that he’s the guy that’s really going to have to run this ball team.”

Pippen said he discussed with Jackson about serving as a full-time assistant on his staff this season. That could be a future option, but didn’t fit right now.

“It was something that we sort of talked about,” Pippen said, “and I think what I’m doing now is going to work out better for both of us and give me an opportunity to sort of ease into it and not really jump in and be all-in and not like it.”

With Pippen, the Lakers have a coaching staff that includes Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Brian Shaw and former Chicago Bulls guard Craig Hodges. Forward Devean George was asked who would win in a pickup game with the assistants.

“They’re too old now,” George said. “They might beat us the first game, but we’ll try to have a series. They won’t last.’

After reporting to camp last year at 230 pounds, Kobe Bryant is a lighter 214 this season. Bryant focused on increasing his speed this summer and the results have been surprising, strength coach Joe Carbone said.

Bryant now is as quick as even the NBA’s fastest point guards, Carbone said, with sprint times that matched those of Charlotte Bobcats rookie Raymond Felton, who had the most speed of any player the Lakers worked out before the draft.

“I just wanted to be able to run all day,” said Bryant, who likely will have to defend opposing point guards this season. “Run fast and run all day.”

Even though he is 28, George said he can remember carrying bags for the Lakers’ veterans like it was yesterday. But with the Lakers having only one player older than 30 this season, George has become one of the elder statesmen overnight.

“Me and Kobe were just talking about that last week when we were working out,” George said. “He said, You know what? We’re the Rick Fox and Ron Harpers of the team now.”‘

George is fully healthy after playing only 15 games last season. He was supposed to return in December from ankle surgery but wasn’t activated from the injured list until the end of March. There is also the prospect for George of being a free agent at season’s end.

“I kind told myself I wasn’t going to watch a lot of basketball in the playoffs,” George said, “but I ended up watching them all. It kind of hurt not being involved and not playing on the big stage. But for me personally, it was a blessing because I had time to get my body right and deal with my injury and my surgery.”

The Lakers signed veteran big man Corie Blount, who last played for Chicago and Toronto in the 2003-04 season.

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